A system and method of assembling scanned images is known: U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,262. In the known system, a set of images can be assembled from document images generated by a scanner in separate actions and can be printed after such assembly. For this purpose, a non-print mode is first set by a key on the operating panel, whereafter the digital image data of scanned documents are not printed directly, but are simply stored in a memory. In these conditions documents can be fed to the scanner by an automatic feed unit or be manually placed on the glass platen forming part of the scanner. The starting key on the operating panel has to be actuated to start the scan action for each document or stack of documents (in the case of an automatic feed unit). The set of images thus built up can be printed by leaving the non-print mode and actuating the start key.
If the non-print mode has not been set, the start key has the function of starting a complete copying cycle, comprising scanning and printing. Its function is thus changed by setting the non-print mode.
The known system offers the possibility of assembling documents of different types to form a set. These documents, however, must all be physical documents because they must be scanned by the scanner. Due to developments in information processing, however, documents are increasingly available only in digital form. If these "documents" are also to be added to the set assembled by the system of the '262 patent, a print of the digital information must first be made so that this print can be scanned by the scanner. This not only entails extra work, but the consecutive actions of printing and then scanning may result in a loss of quality. It is therefore desirable to be able to add information in digital form as well to the set of images.
Other systems for assembling and printing a set of images are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,081,494 and 5,299,021. The common feature of these known systems with the '262 patent described above is that they also can only process physical documents.